13 Investigates: Texas mass shootings jump 65% this year as violence continues

BySarah Rafique KTRK logo

Monday, July 26, 2021

Texas mass shootings jump 65% as violence continues

13 Investigates analysis of gun violence data shows mass shootings are up 65% in Texas this year and up 21% across the nation.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A new 13 Investigates analysis of mass shootings shows a 65% increase in Texas this year.

For months, Houstonians have seen the number of people getting shot go way up, but so has the number of incidents where four or more people are shot at the same time. The data comes from the Gun Violence Archive, an independent research group.

The 13 Investigates analysis of Gun Violence Archive data revealed mass shootings are up 21% across the country and are up an alarming 65% in Texas.

It's founder told ABC News this week, "We're seeing numbers that up until last year, we had literally not seen since the early 1990s."

Thursday night's drive-by shooting on Houston's north side qualifies as a mass shooting. One man was killed and five other people were injured by gunfire.

It is the 14th mass shooting this week across the U.S.

The third in Texas alone.

In an attempt to slow gun violence nationally, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a nationwide effort to clamp down on gun trafficking.

ABC News is looking at gun violence across the country this week for a project the network's Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas calls, "One Nation Under Fire."

"We literally have mass shootings playing out in city after city all the time," Thomas told 13 Investigates' Ted Oberg.

The Thursday night shooting in Houston was the 380th mass shooting in our country in just 203 days so far.

"The people that we're talking to in law enforcement are saying that more and more rounds are being fired. They're recovering more and more shell casings at these particular scenes," Thomas explained. "The people pulling the trigger are willing to do it without fear or retribution."

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